Hooker thrives in heat of battle

Ethan Hooker is a warrior at heart. The youngster loves the heat of battle, especially the final moments of a contest when the stakes are high and exhaustion even greater.

The big Sharks midfielder, who won his 11th cap playing wing against the All Blacks at Cape Town Stadium yesterday, rates the Springboks’ 43-10 triumph over New Zealand in Wellington last year as his favourite match to date. But his best part of rugby is the slugfest at the death, like in South Africa’s 17-10 victory over Argentina in Buenos Aires last month.

“It’s going to sound weird,” he said this week in response to a question about his favourite aspect of a match. “When the game’s on the line like [against] Argentina and the last two minutes, everyone’s exhausted and just throwing your body around.

“In the moment I think it’s the worst possible thing, but looking back at it, I sort of love that. I get a kick [out of it]. Everyone’s on that same level of being tired, and you’ve just got to see who lasts, who can fight harder and fight longer.”

When the 23-year-old suffered a serious dislocation of his left shoulder earlier this season, he was told it would take 14 to 16 weeks to heal.

He was back in action after 11 weeks, but the recovery wasn’t always easy. “I remember the first thing I thought was, ‘how many games am I going to miss?’ The moment you can get over that and just think ‘okay, let me fix myself’, then the better it is,” he said, adding the Sharks physios played a huge role in his rehabilitation.

Those first days after surgery were tough. “You start by trying to shower, and mobility is a huge thing.”

He could move his left arm only a few centimetres. “Then you try to reach the back and it’s just not working. You’re scared and you try to protect it. But the biggest thing is knowing that it’s actually stronger than the other shoulder because of the way it’s healed. You just have to back it.

“All of a sudden you have to start making hits and you feel, ‘okay, it’s not too bad’; and you slowly take it up ... Now I don’t think twice about it.”

Hooker, who was in Grade 10 at Westville Boys’ High when he watched the Boks win the 2019 World Cup, joined his heroes when he made his debut last year. “I take a step back [and] it’s hard to believe I’m mates with these guys now.”

Hooker, who was nominated for World Rugby’s Breakthrough Player of 2025 alongside England’s Henry Pollard and eventual winner Fabian Holland of New Zealand, chased a career in rugby. “I didn’t get into any universities. It was like rugby or nothing, and luckily it worked out,” he admitted with a laugh.

Hooker started out as an inside centre, but in Grade 11 he once played eighthman. “There was actually a very good 12 at my school at the time, so our coach came up with a plan — he wanted eight backs and seven forwards. I wasn’t even a forward. On our attack structure I was with the backs, I wasn’t in any lineouts. It was only scrums, I scrummed at eight. But Covid hit, so I was only eight for one game.”

Asked if coach Rassie Erasmus, who likes hybrid players, knew about it, Hooker said: “I actually have no idea.